Monday, October 24, 2011

When I began to read
this book, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. The first two chapters seemed to me to be
slow going. I kept reading, and soon I
was immersed in the story.

The author has done
her historical research about the setting of the story very well. I enjoyed the dual story lines, running
parallel throughout the book and finally converging. There are multiple themes present in the
storyline. The prodigal child returning
home, both physically and spiritually, is present for more than one of the
characters. Characters must deal with
their pasts, and how the things done in the past affect the lives of others as
well as themselves.
Runaways from the past and present seek shelter from the same source of
safety and security. Grace, compassion,
and love are shown to those in need of rescue.
Of course, there is evil present in the story as well. Justice is served by the bad characters
getting what is their due.

It is so easy to see
how God works through these characters for their good, and to bring them into
close fellowship with fellow believers.
He also draws them close to Him for an intimate relationship. Sometimes in our lives it seems not to be so
easy to see the good that God does, but if we stand firm in our faith, we will
be blessed beyond measure.

I enjoyed this book,
and I will be looking for further books from this author to read. There is something for just about everyone in
this book: a little romance, mystery,
suspense.

Monday, October 10, 2011

This
book is written for husbands so why would a wife want to read a book like this?First of all, I believe women can learn a lot
from what a man reads.I will use the
information presented to pray more effectively for my husband.It is a good tool for discussions of the
heart, which is what most women want to know about their man.In a culture that is fast-paced, sex-saturated,
not to mention a possible host of other stresses and challenges, having time to
talk deeper is becoming even more important.

It is a
book of hope.The author reveals himself
and his struggles as part of human nature.He speaks compassionately yet pointedly.I found the book will not only challenge the husband, but any wife who
makes time to read it as well.It is
interesting that this book is published at the same time as a movie entitled COURAGEOUS is released and a CD
by Casting Crowns entitled COME TO THE WELL, which both tie in well with the
content of this book.

The song
on the CD is called COURAGEOUS, and it is a call for men to stand up by
kneeling with lifted hands.While many
would agree that men have to change, women do to.In order for our husbands to take their place
we have to be willing to let God tell us as wives how to get out of His way so
He can work, how to not enable bad cycles, how to encourage them and not
destroy them.So it is apparent if we
listen to the Lord that both men and women need to be courageous in that they
obey God’s Word and leading.We all have
to be willing to be transformed more into the image of Christ.We must stop reflecting back to the world
what it looks like, as we are to reflect the image of Christ, an image which is
vastly different than the world.

It
takes courage to stand up and whether others go or not, we follow the
Lord.The beauty is that we are never
alone for He has given to us a precious gift, the Holy Spirit.He is always present with us in our
day-to-day activities. He hears all,
sees all and knows all.May we all
humble ourselves and let the Lord give us courage to be more like Christ and
less like the world.Shut out and off
all the electric stuff and reconnect with each other.It starts at home, and from there it ripples
out.Remember it is not to just impact
today, but future generations as well.So go ahead, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. As you are transformed, so your home will then
be also and the world will see that Christ is Who He says He is.

Monday, October 3, 2011

When I
first saw the title of the book, I was drawn to it.I have seen many changes within the Body of
Christ universally speaking that I didn’t have a peace about, but why?In this book, Dan very adequately puts in
words what I was experiencing.The Gospel
is in itself , world tilting, myth busting, powerful Truth.Not because it is true, it is a Personified
truth in the Person of Jesus Christ.

The
author very well points out what is Gospel and what is not.It is a call for the Church to repent and
awaken to speaking the Truth unashamed.It
is a call not to fear man or fearing another person’s feelings, but calling
them to see what is reality.The reality
as God sees it and calls it.Though the
reality would hurt and profoundly cause us to gasp, it would then wonderfully
show us the Person Jesus Christ.While
the world wants Christians to “blend in”, “shut up and sit down”, we need to
stand up and make the Truth known no matter the cost.

Some
think this means we are called to go overseas as missionaries, maybe some
are.More profoundly though we are all called to be missionaries,
ambassadors.We represent not a
denomination, particular view of doctrines, programs but a Person.We must look at the Word and let Him show us
where we fall short of living out a life that draws attention instead of
repelling it.We need others to know
there is someone, named Jesus Christ, who loves them.They cannot come to Him on their terms or in
their own ways but in the only way a Holy God provides.No matter what the “world” or the “god of
this world” says, there is one way and again it is Jesus.There is no other way, no way to work out
through “good deeds” our way into heaven.We must bend our knee, humble ourselves not exalt ourselves.We must admit with all that is within us what
a mess we are, how sin has utterly destroyed and separated us from a Holy
God.It doesn’t matter to me whether
people agree or not.Why doesn’t it
matter that people agree?Truth is Truth
whether people want to see Him, acknowledge Him as well as embrace Him.Turn away they can, ignore Him, curse at Him,
deny Him none of this is new to Him, He has known this all before.He has experienced it as a man before.He sympathizes with our weaknesses, but He
cannot turn away from it.He shed His
precious blood so we can be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.Man has choice, free will.There are no other choices before humanity.

Whose
Truth will you embrace?Is it what somebody
tells you what truth is or are you going to read the Word of God for yourself, check it out,
study it, believe it?He turned my world
upside down several times since He and I first met in 1980.I know He will never stop, for I must become
less in order for Him to become more in me.I am His, He is mine.What about
you?

Why we do what we do

When this blog began it was during a time of raising my sons and care taking for ailing inlaws. Before those seasons ended this blog morphed into writing reviews and interviewing authors. With the constant change in the Christian publishing industry and our society, our purpose expanded.

With my girlfriend coming alongside, we review all sorts of novels, hunting for sound stories. While there are a couple genres we will not review for several reasons, we remain open to looking into new opportunities to read and share about good books!

In all of what we do we aim to bring glory to God and Christ Jesus in the ministry of blogging which we believe He has blessed us to do. We are always amazed that we get to wake up and do something with such profound joy each and everyday.